VAP - Chapter 63
Chapter 63: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (22)
Yue Du listened to the commotion next door.
The presence stopped at the door, then slowly retracted, as if waiting for the person inside to come out.
The old man in the necklace, with the spiritual senses of a Dharma Saint, detected him and immediately exclaimed in alarm, “Rand, be careful—there's someone with malicious intent outside.”
Abio wiped his mouth. “Oh.”
“That's a Magus, a Magus!”
“I know.”
The Dharma Saint's soul was about to die of anger at his disciple. “If you know, then hurry up and think of a way to escape! You're not planning to take on a Magus by yourself, are you?”
“Don't worry, Teacher. It'll be fine.”
Lorins's intuition was also warning her, and the feeling was very familiar.
She thought for a moment. The big guy she'd beaten up a few months ago had a similar aura, though it was much weaker than the one at the door.
Tsk, what a useless oaf. A grown man gets beaten up and runs home to his family?
Lorins scoffed and stood up, ready to go out and face the challenge.
“The person outside is a tough one,” Abio said.
“If I can't win, I'll run. I'm fast enough that even the captain can't catch me.” Lorins had already drawn her shortsword, a look of eagerness on her face. “Stay out of it. I'm the one who caused this trouble.”
“...It might be me, too.” Abio briefly explained how he had tricked a big guy earlier.
After he finished, the two looked at each other.
Hmm. So this is what being good brothers is about—drinking from the same bottle and beating up the same person?
Abio quickly dispelled his friend's notion of fighting a Magus one-on-one. “Don't go. Let me handle it. I've already made preparations.”
Then, he raised his voice and calmly invited the Magus outside to come in.
Surprised that his presence had been detected, the Magus pushed the door open and said condescendingly, “Not bad. You were actually able to discover me.”
Abio said, “Welcome, esteemed Mr. Mora.”
The Magus's surname was indeed Mora. His face darkened. “It seems you know me. Let me guess, did you hear it from my poor grandson?”
“I have a piece of Dark Aganite here,” Abio said slowly, not directly answering his probing question. “As you know, for a dark-element mage, Dark Aganite is a rare and coveted treasure.”
“What are you trying to say? If you die, it will belong to me anyway.”
“Perhaps, but who would complain about having too many crystals?” Abio said meaningfully.
Mora narrowed his eyes and said with certainty, “You have a source.”
Abio replied, “That depends on you.”
Mora did indeed have the idea of backing up his grandson, but it wasn't essential. He was already in the city, and teaching two high-level warriors a lesson was just something to do on the way.
So, should he choose to avenge a good-for-nothing grandson, or choose something that could help him advance? After a moment of simple consideration, Mora happily chose the latter.
He received the crystal from the young warrior's hand.
“A pleasure to meet you, young man.”
Mora was now somewhat glad he hadn't rashly struck a killing blow. Dark Aganite was priceless and rare; being able to obtain it meant the young man had some backing. Whether he could afford to provoke them or not, it would be a hassle regardless.
Abio smiled. “The pleasure is all mine, sir.”
The Magus had come suddenly, and he left just as suddenly.
Lorins, who had witnessed the entire transaction, naturally sheathed her shortsword and sighed, “So you investigated him beforehand. Ah, and here I thought I'd get to fight a high-level mage this time.”
Abio smiled without a word.
If it were the him of his youth, he would never have compromised like this. Even if he were being hunted down desperately, he would have hurled threats at his pursuers, something along the lines of "If I don't die today, I'll make sure you're annihilated tomorrow..."
However, after living for over a hundred years, he had come to understand the principle that it's better to resolve enmity than to create it. He had grown tired of the drama where you beat the young one, and the old one comes, then you beat the old one, and an even older one comes.
Although Dark Aganite was precious, its use was limited to dark-element mages. To him, it was like chicken ribs—tasteless to eat, yet a pity to throw away.
Since he could use it to win someone over, why not do it?
Yue Du, who was listening in: “...”
This male lead's way of thinking is so different from the protagonists of other power-leveling stories. Should I say, as expected of someone who's been reborn?
Since Nai Yin didn't have to swoop in and save the day at a critical moment, her mood improved slightly. “Hmm, this kid's not bad.”
The “not bad” Abio was asking Lorins if she wanted to go on an adventure in the Abyss.
Lorins was very surprised. “The Abyss? Are you disappointed that we didn't die at the hands of that Magus?”
“There are some things there that are helpful for cultivation,” Abio said vaguely. “Whether you go or not is up to you, but I definitely have to go.”
“Then wait a moment, I need to prepare.” Lorins closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. “Alright, I'm ready.”
What happened next was a matter of course. In the original plot, they were able to fight their way through the Abyss, and it was the same now.
Nai Yin didn't plan to follow them.
“I don't want to see those abyssal beasts again,” she said. “Why can't they learn from their compatriots on land? They're such an eyesore.”
And so, the black-feathered crow was put to use once again.
Through the elemental puppet's pitch-black eyes, she could see the two of them working together to fight the abyssal beasts, aided by the spiritual pressure of the Dharma Saint's soul, as they advanced toward the location where the divine artifact was supposed to be.
During this time, Abio also unhesitatingly revealed his trump card of being a dual cultivator of magic and martial arts.
During a lull in the fighting, Lorins asked, “You never planned on hiding it from me, did you?”
Abio replied, “More or less. Anyway, I trust you won't tell anyone.”
Lorins said, “Of course not! I'm not the type to sell out my brothers!”
She added with a sigh, “I originally thought I could definitely one-up you, but now it seems that's not so certain.”
“So next time, it's definitely your turn to treat me to a meal.”
“In your dreams.”
Then, they fought their way to the cave where the divine artifact was originally hidden.
“So this is the good stuff you were talking about. It's really not bad.” Lorins was quite happy.
Treasures that could aid in cultivation were the rarest of all. For this, fighting abyssal beasts for a few hours was nothing.
Abio, however, was a bit stunned. He couldn't help but take half a step back, muttering, “This isn't...”
There was indeed something placed here—but it wasn't the two blood-red beads from his memory.
Resting on the stone platform were two unremarkable-looking wooden bracelets. Based on the aura they emitted, one was suitable for a mage, and the other for a warrior.
These were also items that helped professionals cultivate, but they could function independently, without needing to be near the other holder to be effective.
This was actually a good thing, but.
Abio felt a chill run down his spine.
Once again, something that was supposed to be there was gone.
But unlike before, this time, an item of roughly equivalent value had been left behind. What was the point? For fun?
Who was the person with the power to do such a thing?!
Lorins didn't notice his unease. She put on the bracelet, closed her eyes to feel its effects, and was extremely surprised and delighted.
“You're a true friend! From now on, you'll get a share of anything I find, too.”
Abio feigned calmness. “Then I'll thank you in advance.”
“Why be so polite with me?”
“...” The male lead wiped his face and silently picked up his staff again.
Now that they had the items, it was time to think about how to fight their way out.
As for the identity of the person who kept intercepting his opportunities but had now inexplicably started giving things away for free, he could think about that after they got out.
The black-feathered crow hid behind an abyssal beast. These beasts weren't interested in beings made of pure elements and treated it as if it weren't there.
Everything that was happening was recorded by its cold, pitch-black eyes and relayed back to its master.
These two items were, of course, placed here by Lord Nai Yin.
Things like this that could accelerate cultivation were extremely hard to come by. Nai Yin didn't quite trust the protagonist—what if, without the blood-red beads, he couldn't advance to become a Dharma Saint?
The plot point only specified that the protagonist couldn't obtain the blood-red beads, but it didn't say he couldn't get a substitute with a similar effect.
In any case, Nai Yin didn't like those two dusty little things. Leaving them in her warehouse would only let them gather dust, so it was better to let them serve some purpose.
So she had casually left the two bracelets behind.
And now, the Main System's notification sounded in her spiritual domain, signifying that the plot point had been judged as successfully avoided.
Nai Yin curled her lips in satisfaction.
Want to weaken the protagonist? Fine.
But I won't do it.
If you've got the guts, come into the small world and fight me.
Yue Du said, “The next plot point isn't until next year.”
Upon hearing this, Nai Yin's beautiful eyes lit up.
She raised her right hand, her slender fingertips tracing a circle, and opened a spatial passage directly to the castle. “Calling it a day, calling it a day. Let's go home.”
Yue Du asked, “Not planning to continue touring the continent's famous sights?”
“...” Nai Yin said, “I'll go back for a while, then come out to play again.”
Yue Du could barely hold back her laughter.
Honestly, Nai Yin could be a little cute sometimes, especially when she pretended nothing was wrong with a straight face.
However.
Soon, she understood why her host was so eager to return to the castle.
On the warm, thick beast-hide rug, Yue Du was held in the arms of the half-blood with pure black, curved horns, tightly restrained.
The intense sensory experience of having her blood drunk forced her to clutch a tuft of long, soft, snow-white fur, bunching up a small part of the rug.
Pale, slender fingers covered hers, guiding Yue Du's arm to wrap around her own shoulder. Nai Yin paused her feeding and said softly, “Today, you might need an extra bottle of blood-replenishing potion.”
Yue Du's eyes widened, but she was quickly pulled back into the chaotic sensations, unable to speak.
It seemed Nai Yin didn't like drinking blood outside, so much so that she lost a bit of control as soon as she got home. At this moment, she truly had the indulgent air of a vampire.
Yue Du listlessly accepted the blood-replenishing potion.
Nai Yin asked, “Want to eat something?”
Yue Du downed the potion. Madam Milan had ingeniously made the magic potion sweet, with a taste similar to mangosteen. It could almost be drunk as a beverage.
After drinking it, Yue Du looked up. “No, thank you. I've decided to sleep for a while.”
Nai Yin cleared her throat. “Then get some rest.”
Yue Du closed her eyes.
...
Wait.
If she remembered correctly, she had only given blood, at most a larger amount than before.
But this conversation, this scene... why did it feel like the morning after??
She opened her eyes again.
As expected, Nai Yin was still sitting by the bed, a smile that could be called sweet on her beautiful face.
Yue Du reminded her, “Shouldn't you be going back to your own room?”
Nai Yin: “Ah—”
She wore an expression that clearly wanted a sleepover.
“Good night?”
“...Good night.”
The door was closed.
Yue Du stared at the door for a long while before closing her eyes again.
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